TechCrunch Site
Makes Arrington
A Power Broker

By

Rebecca Buckman and

Vauhini Vara

Updated Nov. 3, 2006 11:59 p.m. ET

MENLO PARK, Calif. -- When Ted Rheingold wanted publicity for his Internet start-up Dogster Inc. late last year, he prodded Michael Arrington, Silicon Valley's newest power broker, to check out the offbeat Web site for pet lovers.

In January, Mr. Arrington wrote up the site on TechCrunch, his technology blog. "For a lot of dog-crazy owners, this [site] is perfect," Mr. Arrington concluded. The review gave Dogster a...